


Comfort

by ThatWasntSoBad



Series: Alistair/Cousland one shots [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, fluff and comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22465321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWasntSoBad/pseuds/ThatWasntSoBad
Summary: It's been a few weeks since Alistair's wife has returned from Amaranthine and they both find comfort in each other.- There isn't any plot to this. It's pure self-indulgence.
Relationships: Alistair/Cousland (Dragon Age), Alistair/Female Warden (Dragon Age), Alistair/Warden (Dragon Age)
Series: Alistair/Cousland one shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610623
Kudos: 7





	Comfort

Water ran down Alistair's face, hair dripping. The warmth of the water coaxed his stressed form into relaxation, sinking into his skin, his muscles and all the way to his bones.

It had been a few days since her return from Amaranthine and the nobles were far more intense than before. Teagan had returned to Redcliffe and Eamon was doing everything he could to aid the stressed King whilst the Queen recovered from her injuries. Properly. Much to her dismay.  
I'm recovered, stop fussing. She murmured whilst healers were dealing with reopened wounds. I've handled worse! Five arrows on three days rest!

Of course, those injuries had never healed properly. And now pain would resurface every so often.

It was almost endearing to Alistair how his wife wanted to sink her teeth into the Nobles and deal with the problems at hand. He was grateful for her enthusiasm, but he knew that if she did she would never recover. Not really.

With a sigh, Alistair tilted his head back, arms draped over the side of the bath. He was glad she was back. More than glad. Words couldn't quite describe the feeling of waking up every morning and seeing Adelaide curled up to him, feeling her gentle breaths graze his skin, eyes of topaz weary for a moment before lighting up as she smiled.

"Do you always smile when you're bathing, my dear?" He jumped, breath catching in his throat in shock, and Adelaide laughed. "I'm sorry. I thought you heard the door."

Alistair turned his head to look at her. She was in her night robe, feet bare. Fine silk of lavender clinging to her form so elegantly she appeared ethereal - a goddess who fell for his stupidity. Whatever made her love him piqued his curiosity, but it didn't matter. He was the luckiest man alive.

"I was... lost in thought."

"Oh?" He felt her presence behind him. "Is something troubling you?"

"Troubling me? Apart from stuffy nobles, nothing's troubling me." His grin was hard to hide. "Nope. Just thinking about you, my dear."

"What about, specifically?"

"You really want to know?" Divulging in moments he held dear made him flustered at the best of times.

"I'm curious." Adelaide's fingers worked they're way through his hair. It was comforting to him and helped him when he couldn't sleep. She had well-practised hands and he was told it helped to comfort her nephew when he was troubled and without his parents. It also helped her.

Alistair sighed through a smile and closed his eyes. "Alright. I'll tell you before you start making those puppy eyes Aelfric makes." A playful smack, although it was more like a pat than anything, to his cheek made him chuckle. "A couple of things. Trivial things but magical. Like when I'm awake before you and you're fast asleep. "

"I'm not drooling am I?" Alistair turned to look at her, slightly confused at the question. Even if she did it wouldn't change anything. He slept with dogs afterall. No thanks to Isolde. "Fergus joked I drooled on his lap when I fell asleep on him. I was small but I... it's in the back of my mind sometimes."

He shook his head. "If you do, I've never noticed or cared. But you do have this really quiet snore. It's so cute. Not like those obnoxious ones that keep you up at night."

"My snoring's... cute?"

"Y-up!" He popped the 'p' and turned to look at Adelaide fully, arms crossed in front of him and his chin resting on his arms. "You are also very cute: cuddling up to me and at peace. And if the sun is shining through the window? Ethereal. Opening your eyes for the first time in the morning and looking at me?" His smile was gentle and full of affection. "My heart stutters just thinking about it."

Adelaide knelt as he spoke. When he finished she sat and crossed her legs. Her cheeks were a soft rouge, smile embarrassed but... happy. "Alright, alright. I get it." She pressed her lips to his for a brief moment. "I missed you, too." Another kiss. "Turn around?"

"Why~?" As Alistair turned he questioned her in a sing-song voice, eyes narrowed with amusement and grin teasing. "Going to join me are you?"

"Not on your nelly, dear."

He feigned a gasp of shock. "Am I really so horrid?"

She seemed to scoff, but her amusement was clear as she spoke. "Truly. " When he seemed to pout, now settled, she kissed his shoulder blades. "The water stings when it touches my injuries. I don't think you'd appreciate a relaxing bath when your wife's silently suffering. Besides," her palms were pressed to his back and her thumbs worked on knots in his back, "you've been quite tense as of late. I figured that you deserved some... attention."

A groan of relief passed Alistair's lips when a knot loosened. "Not as much attention as you deserve. You should be recovering but here you are giving me a message."

"Easing tension in your muscles will hardly cause any issues to me, Alistair." He tilted his head back and looked at her knowingly, an eyebrow raised in challenge, and then the sighed. "You're not still concerned about my shoulder are you?"

"Of course I am." Alistair turned to look at her again - completely - and took her hands. "You couldn't sleep last night with all the trouble it was giving you. Even though it doesn't hurt so much anymore, I don't want you to make it worse."

She seemed to think for a moment before slowly nodding. "You're right. I tell everyone else to be careful but... I'm not careful myself. It's a little hypocritical. Right?"

"Right." Adelaide seemed to care very little that her sleeves were damp. Her smile seemed to be more at ease now that they had spoken - as if her worries had almost slipped away. But there was still something troubling her. He could tell. "Are you sure you don't want to join me? Maybe the sting of the water is worse before it eases? Like getting hit by a Mage's lightning spell."

"Perhaps." She kissed his forehead. "Alright. I just need to get the poultice and bandages."

"You're still using bandages?"

"For the muscle injuries. So I don't do more harm to them in my sleep. The poultice helps with what few wounds I have left. I forgot about them last night. I um... fell asleep and, well, the rest is history."

Alistair shook his head in dismay. "You've spent far too much time with me."

"Too little more like, my love." A kiss to his forehead. "I'll be back."

_________________________________________________________________

Adelaide settled into bed beside Alistair. He held her to his side, head cradling hers as it rested in the crook of his neck. She held a book in her hand - Ferelden Myths and Legends. Fergus had given it to her as a birthday present and she had struggled to put it down. She had always enjoyed these stories according to Fergus. It was unsurprising to Alistair - she took great pride in keeping up to date with as many legends as she could, not only Ferelden legends, either. She was a great fan in Dalish legends, asking Dalish Elves about them when she could - although she was more intent on supporting Dalish Clans that wished to share their history. It was far easier and they showed a great deal more respect - it didn't feel like she was the only one who showed respect to anyone. That was how she described it.

There was only one story she always skipped over.

"You just skipped over Flemeth."

"I don't like it. It makes my skin itch and blood boil. It was the most discussed tale when I was a child." She frowned as she skipped the final page of the story. "It may as well be the most discussed story in the Country at this rate. I thought it poppycock to begin with but, we both saw her. She elongated her life by taking her child's form. I don't particularly want to think she was married to a Cousland - all be it an arse of a Cousland but that's beside the point."

Alistair found it quite endearing - she valued knowing family flaws and she was taught a few to learn from yet she still had a great amount of pride for her family despite its flaws. He supposed what he found endearing was skipping pages and stories that saddened her, but he almost... idolised her for the love she held for her family. She held her family dear even when they hurt her. She held patience and forgave without being apologised to. She forgave easily unless she was betrayed. She forgave unless it hurt her so badly her heart shattered.

He recalled her saying I shall hate those who have done wrong by me, but I shan't hate those who have not. He had asked her if she hated every Howe, if she could ever forgive Rendon Howe, to which she replied, I will not forgive him or what he did, but I shall forgive myself for taking it badly. His family name may make my blood boil for a moment before I feel numb and empty, sad and angry all in one, I may frown at the sound and feel bitter as I say it, but his children were not to blame. I doubt they even knew. I do not hate them for existing and sharing his name - it will simply be difficult to unassociate them with their father.

Sometimes she forgave when she shouldn't. She forgave Loghain for retreating - she had the mindset of a warrior and knew that it was a losing battle. She forgave him once she came to terms with it - something he could never do. But she could never forgive him for how he acted. For giving Ferelden to the Blight. And even then, she forgave him to a point, fully blaming Howe for the ending.

What made her execute him? Go against what she stood for. At first, it was 'He threw Ferelden to the wolves as soon as he listened to Howe' and then, more quietly, as if to herself in the dead of night a few weeks later, it was 'I was afraid of losing you'. And then she forgave him for his hatred. She'd been there before, after the blood of another. She forgave him for that.

She forgave someone who tried to kill her. Forgave those who had given her a hard time, including countless nobles.

She... forgave. Almost too much. Perhaps that was what made him better? She could forgive and hold a grudge, but always sought the whole story. She made friends where he would have failed and made peace where he was caught in a stalemate.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" She turned the page, itched her bicep for a brief moment, then went back to reading with a frown of concentration.

"Forgive so easily."

Adelaide shrugged. "I have no idea. I never really thought about it before." She closed the book, placed it on the bedside table, then looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity, I suppose." He kissed her temple. "With everything you've been through during the Blight alone, I don't think many people would forgive as you do."

"I can't say I know how I do it but I think I have an answer for why." She sat up, turned her body to look at him, and crossed her legs. "It's a theory but maybe it could help you."

"Something is better than nothing."

"Right." Adelaide took his hand and lifted it before pressing her palm and fingers against his. "The Blight taught me how to forgive. Before it was... difficult. I blamed myself a lot, more than I blamed the person at fault. Most of it I never realised. But my father... understood. He told me once that forgiveness isn't always a bad thing. How forgiveness can be a strength. He told me I needed to forgive myself more. I started to do that but it was difficult. The more men fell to Daarkspawn at the Storm Coast, the more I blamed myself. I was the only person to blame.

"A few months later, Howe murdered my family. I blamed myself originally for being to slow, that if I stayed up I could have saved my father, got my parents to safety. Saved my family. And then after Ostagar, the first nightmare I had about that night, I blamed myself and Howe. My hatred for him increased until it was difficult to breathe when I heard his name. I didn't allow myself to grieve. I refused to until he was dead. But something happened when I saw my father's spirit at the Temple."

"You grieved." Alistair took the opportunity to sit up then, slipping his fingers between hers. 

She nodded. "Yes. I knew he was dead but somewhere in my mind, I was in denial. When I saw him, I held back tears. When he said 'You know that I am dead' and called me pup again, I... I had nothing to cling to. No hope but also no negativity. He was gone and there was nothing I could do to change that." Adelaide squeezed his hand. "You told me I was too harsh on myself and I finally understood. I forgave myself. That was what I could do. Forgiving is almost... a defence mechanism. Sometimes I wish I didn't forgive so easily - it's given me more trouble than it's worth sometimes. But that's why we work well together. We help each other see beyond our own thoughts."

Alistair pulled her into a gentle embrace then. Even though his wife had grieved, it was clear in her eyes it still hurt more than she dared to show or admit. Adelaide settled into his arms with seemingly no qualms and returned the gesture without hesitation. He kissed her forehead before resting his chin upon her head, nuzzled once more into his neck.

"I'm not proud of the person my hatred for Howe made me - all dark inside and angry until the temple."

"I'm proud of who it made you. And I'm proud you made it out of that darkness. You survived what I wouldn't be able to."

"I..." She cleared her throat and held him tighter. "Thank you for being around for me. I'm sure that if it wasn't for you being my friend right at the start, I would have let it swallow me whole."

"If there is one thing I know the most about you, it's you're far too stubborn to let bad stuff knock you down without a fight. You were the most optimistic out of all of us until the very end."

He heard her frown through her voice. "You're not still annoyed at the whole Morrigan thing are you?"

"Me?" Alistair laughed. "Definitely not. But," He pulled away enough to cup her cheeks. "how can I be annoyed at you when it meant you lived? Won't forgive you for the brief moment I thought it wouldn't but..."

"I lived and your smile when I awoke was the brightest smile I've ever seen." If Adelaide knew how beautiful her smile was when she said that, eyes shining like the brightest of stars, she'd take back her words in a heartbeat.

Alistair's cheeks warmed. "Yes, well. I was terrified of losing you. I refused to be coronated until I knew you were alive."

"You're so adorable."

The red stain upon his cheeks deepened in colour. "Maker's breath, Adelaide. You'll be the death of me."


End file.
